ABC anchorman Charles Gibson held his steely focus and kept Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin off balance through the final two parts of their highly anticipated three-part interview.

In a Thursday conversation shown on Nightline, he pressed her about a shift in her position on global warning. Tonight on ABC World News, he vigorously quizzed her on a change in her stand on earmarks and a pork barrel project known as "The Bridge to Nowhere."

Typical of the kinds of tough statements of context that preceded Gibson's questions: "But you turned against it [the bridge] after Congress had basically pulled the plug ... after it became a national embarrassment to the state of Alaska. So do you want to revise and extend your remarks?"

Like Thursday's interview on World News, rounds two and three also went to Gibson, who gave voters a much better sense of Palin's limitations than they had before he and she sat down to chat.

The response to these interviews at my blog, zontv, which launched on Monday, has been tremendous. In less than 24 hours, we had about 66,000 page views and more than 300 comments.

There was no shortage of rancor, with many self-described supporters of Palin criticizing Gibson for everything from sitting too close to her, to opening the interview with questions about her qualifications. But there was also a sense from many that Gibson had served the public well.

You can read the comments and see a full review of Friday's World News interview at baltimoresun.com/zontv. I'll also have a review of Michael Phelps' acting debut and Barack Obama's appearance on NBC's season premiere of Saturday Night Live right after the show.